The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) uncovered and shut down the UK's first illegal weight loss medicine factory during a raid on a Northampton warehouse. This facility, believed to be the largest of its kind seized globally, was producing and distributing unlicensed and potentially dangerous weight loss injections.

Officers from the MHRA’s Criminal Enforcement Unit, alongside Northamptonshire Police, confiscated tens of thousands of empty weight loss pens ready for filling, raw chemical ingredients, and more than 2,000 unlicensed retatrutide and tirzepatide pens valued over £250,000. Additionally, £20,000 in cash and advanced packaging and manufacturing equipment were seized, suspected to be linked to medicine trafficking.

Health Secretary Wes Streeting condemned those responsible, warning the public against purchasing weight loss medicines from unregulated sources and urging use of licensed medications under medical supervision. Andy Morling, Head of MHRA’s Criminal Enforcement Unit, stressed the severe health risks these fake products pose and highlighted the raid as a pivotal move in dismantling criminal networks trading dangerous medicines.

The MHRA continues to encourage consumers to only obtain prescription medicines through registered pharmacies with proper prescriptions to ensure safety and efficacy. This seizure sends a clear message against the illegal medicine trade threatening public health.

Learn more: MHRA smashes major illicit weight loss medicine production facility in record seizure